General idea of postgraduate studies

“The important thing in science is not so much to obtain new facts

as to discover new ways of thinking about them.”
Sir William Bragg

You are new to research. Read the following text paying attention to the academic degrees, which can be earned at postgraduate schools of Siberian State University of Railway Engineering. Make up a list of research terminology that can be used for discussing your “Personal Development Plan” during the course of your training and research.

All creative personalities are full of original ideas and strive for developing them. Such people have the ability to think in an independent way and invent things that no one else has thought of. They tackle the world’s toughest challenges and come up withsolutions that result in well-grounded technological and economic developments. Being educated in different fields, they dedicate themselves to researching of crucial problems thus advancing science as human intellectual and practical activity. Engineers, economists, lawyers or educationalists look for gaps in current critical situations and search well-grounded solutions in applied and basic science. The systematic study of various data, natural phenomena and facts through observation and experiment brings researchers together in many particular situations.

To become an expert in a specialist area and to gain high-quality research training professionals should enter the third stage of university education which is responsible for RhD training. In the Russian Federation, this stage provides the Doctoral programmes leading to the award of the degrees of Candidate and of Doctor of Science (Sc.D) after the publicdefense of a thesis.

The degrees of Candidate and of Doctor of Science are considered an approximate equivalent to the PhD degree in English speaking countries. PhD is an abbreviation for `Doctor of Philosophy' and is awarded in sciences and humanities to people who have done advanced research into a particular subject. The Dissertation Councils of the Higher Certification Commission under the direct leadership of the Ministry of Education and Science are authorized to confer these top qualification degrees. The Dissertation Councils are responsible for high standards during the attestation and for the quality and objectivity of the thesis evaluation. If not, the Higher Certification Commission, which strictly supervises the activity of the Dissertation Councils, may dissolve them.

These top qualification can be earned at Siberian State University of Railway Engineering that has been training its candidate students at 11 scientific fields through a postgraduate programme (aspirantura). They conducttheir research under the guidance of scientific supervisors.

The fields where the academic degrees can be awarded are the following: The Physical Sciences and Mathematics, The Technical Sciences, The Economic Science, The Science of Law, Philosophy, and The Pedagogical Sciences (Education).The third stage education involves the in-depth study of a specific field, usually related to students’ first-degree subjects: Railway Track, Railway Survey and Engineering; Railway Traffic Management; Engineering and Building of Underground Railways, Airfields, Bridges and Transport Tunnels; Mechanical Gears and Machine Elements; Mechanical-engineering Technology; Test Methods and Diagnostics in Mechanical Engineering; Structural Mechanics; Mechanics of Deformable Solids; Social Philosophy; Economics and National Economy Management; Fundamentals of Pedagogy, History of Pedagogy and Education; Theory and Methodology of Professional Education (Educational Development); Employment Law, etc.

Enrollment in the third stage of the university professional education on a competitive basis is normally in July and August. A high degree of self-motivation and the abilities to undertake research are taken into account because this training requires independent work on thesis. The entrance examinations in applicant’s field of research are usually conducted by professors of the corresponding departments and include tests in a discipline of specialization and in a foreign language.

The best-prepared and talented applicants, holding higher education qualification, are admitted to full-time study. The programmes involve close work with experienced researchers who supervise postgraduate students’ study. To be successful an enrolled post graduate student will need to demonstrate intellectual independence, self-discipline and time-management skills, as he has to set and keep to his own schedule. Each applicant should keep in mind the "4-D approach" - determination, dedication, direction, discipline. The results are presented as a written report known as a thesis or dissertation.

Exercise 1.1.1

Find Russian equivalents to the following English words, word combinations, set expressions, and phrases. Check up the standard pronunciation of the words which are difficult or unknown to you. Memorize them by giving your own examples with them.

Table 1 Word List

№	Words, word combinations, set expressions and phrases
1.	academic degrees
2.	to advance science
3.	applied science
4.	award the degrees of Candidate and of Doctor of Science
5.	basic science
6.	be authorized to confer the top qualification degrees
7.	be educated in different fields
8.	be responsible for the quality of the dissertation evaluation
9.	become an expert in a specialist area
10.	candidate student, postgraduate student, PhD student
11.	come up withsolutions
12.	conductone’s research under the guidance of the scientific supervisor
13.	dedicate oneself to researching crucial applied problems
14.	the Dissertation Council
15.	do advanced research into a particular subject
16.	earn the top qualification
17.	evaluate the thesis
18.	search well-grounded solutions
19.	gain high-quality research training
20.	the Higher Certification Commission
21.	hold higher education qualification
22.	humanities
23.	look for gaps in current critical situations
24.	the Ministry of Education and Science
25.	Personal Development Plan
26.	the PhD degree
27.	publicdefense of a thesis
28.	result in well-grounded technological and economic developments
29.	sciences
30.	Siberian State University of Railway Engineering
31.	study of various data and facts through experiment (observation)
32.	tackle the world’s toughest challenges
33.	time-management skills

Exercise 1.1.2